Finding the Underneath
by Kimiyo
Summary: AU Bella/Paul. Bella never thought picking up a hooker outside a gas station could alter her life forever. Het, slash, femmeslash.


**Finding the Underneath  
**by: Kimiyo  
rated: m  
warning(s): prostitution, violence, language, torture, drug and alcohol abuse, disturbing imagery, torture, mentioned sex, child abuse, dubcon, and noncon.  
pairing(s): paul/bella, angela/jessica, sam/leah, some edward/bella, embry/paul/bella, billy/paul.  
Summary: AU Bella never thought picking up a hooker outside of a gas station could alter her life forever.

**part one. **_One O'clock Pickup_

It's one o'clock in the morning, thinks Bella, and I am in a convenient store buying a coke and a slim jim. She feels ridiculous for sneaking out of the house to buy something so random, and a little guilty because Charlie still thinks she's home sleeping. The clerk looks like she's about to fall asleep on the register as Bella pays, dark circles bruising under her eyes. Bella hopes no one else files in after her so the woman might be able to take a nap or something.

Cool night air slaps her to full wakefulness as she steps out of the store, hands reaching up to tighten her ponytail. There's only one person outside, a boy with tight jeans who's leaning up against the wall, lighting up a cigarette. He's decent looking with long legs, tan skin, and sharp features; not as pinup pretty as Edward but certainly not ugly. The boy catches her staring, and Bella blushes, hoping she doesn't come across as some kind of weirdo. When he pushes himself off the wall and walks over to her with a smirk on his face, she begins to panic.

_What if he mugs me or something?_ Bella tries to remember what she learned in Karate, but comes up blank.

"Hey, did you hear me?" Bella is snapped out of her freakout by a hand waving in front of her face, "I asked if you had a place to stay."

"Um, I don't know if that's a good idea," says Bella, feeling guilty when his face falls.

"Please," he says, voice going quiet, "I'll do whatever you want, for free. I promise I'm not some freaky serial killer, I just can't go home right now."

"What do you mean "for free?"" Something in the way he says the words, tinged with fear, makes Bella stop to listen. He looks uncomfortable at her stare, pursing his lips together, "Like I said, I'll let you do anything, no charge: Tie me up, fuck me, hit me, cut me, burn me. Anything."

Horror settles at the bottom of her stomach like a stone. The words _for free_ repeat in her head like some kind of gruesome mantra.

Her fingers feel numb. She blames it on the cold drink in her hand and not the sick, icy dread that spreads through her as she imagines this boy being held down by a stranger. "C'mon, I have to get back before my dad wakes up."

The stark relief on his face makes her hope she's not making a huge mistake. A gasp of surprise escapes her when skinny arms wrap around her shoulders in a hug; she pats his back awkwardly, feeling out of her depth. Touchy feely stuff had always been her mother's thing while she was growing up. The guy pulls back finally, a little smile on his face.

"Thank you."

Bella reddens as he continues to smile at her. She coughs a little to break the sudden awkwardness, pointing to the red truck parked crooked off to the side of the store.

"You suck at parking," the guy drawls, walking around to the other side of the truck.

"Oh shut up."

Bella opens the door on the drivers' side, wincing when it lets out this long, shrill squeak. She nods at the other teen, who gives her a little smile of amusement. She feels her insides wobble a little bit. Bella starts the truck and pulls out of the parking lot, turning left on the road leading back to her house.

"So what's your name?" asks Bella, glancing at the boy's profile as the lights from the street flicker across his face.

"Paul, Paul Miller. Are you new around here?"

"Um, yeah, I just moved here from Phoenix, Arizona."

"Do they have an iceskating rink up there?" Paul says, moving so close that he is practically sitting in Bella's lap, "My cousin said there was one in Paradise Valley but sometimes he lies about stuff. When we were little I asked him where babies came from and he told me they beamed them down from spaceships. I didn't really get what the aliens would do with the babies except for eating them so I pushed him off the monkey bars and called him a big fat liar."

Paul reminds Bella of someone, but she can't for the life of her remember who. Maybe someone from Elementary school or something? She doesn't know. Heat radiates from Paul's body and it makes her want to move closer to bask in the warmth. She's always been cold-natured, bundling herself in blankets and falling asleep in patches of sunlight to soak up the heat from the sunshine. Dad had jokingly called her a lizard.

"Your cousin sounds weird man."

"You should meet my dad, prime weirdo material right there. He plays catch with kittens." Bella scrunched up her face in confusion.

"How does that work?"

Paul shrugs. "I don't know. Mostly he just tosses the yarn at them and they ignore him. It's kind of funny but sad at the same time to watch him. He also plays guitar outside of convenient stores and gas stations. Nobody wants to hear a tone deaf guy in his late thirties singing about cats at six o'clock in the morning. He never listens to me."

* * *

The house is quiet.

Bella shushes him and lifts up on the door handle so the door won't squeak as they go in the house. Paul looks around curiously as Bella ushers him up the stairs to her room, tip-toeing past Dad's room just in case. She would rather not have to explain why there's a young hooker in her room. It would be super awkward and Dad would give her that soul crushing look of disappointment he perfected on Grandma Donna during her walks of shame.

Bella turns the knob and eases the door open, flipping the light switch."This is my Bat Cave. Mi casa, es su casa and all that." Paul sits awkwardly on the edge of her bed, hands gripping the hem of his shirt before pulling it up over his head and tossing it in the corner. He strips the rest of his clothes off quickly, stretching across her bed.

"Whoa, whoa buddy, can't we talk about this? I haven't even bought you dinner." Bella looks anywhere but at his private parts as she takes the blanket from the foot of her bed, pulling him to a sitting position and wrapping it around him. A kiss is pressed to the corner of her mouth, then his lips are moving against hers. His hands grip her shoulders lightly, and Bella runs a hand over his chest, over his collar bone, to curl around the back of his neck.

"You don't need to do anything, you know," whispers Bella, pulling back. Her thumb moves in circles on the soft skin of his neck.

"Okay," he says, looking almost thankful. A smile quirks at the corner of his lips.

"Can we start over?" Paul holds his hand out for Bella to shake, "I'm Paul." Bella shakes his hand with a mock serious expression, before cracking a smile.

"Bella," she giggles, raising her eyebrows at him, "I think your seduction tactics are a bit lacking."

Paul laughs, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

"God, this is weird. Usually people want to get me naked, not cover me up."

"Bet that messes up your morning, huh?" jokes Bella, moving to lean back against the headboard.

"A little bit," says Paul, grinning at her, "I was actually almost excited. Most of the men and women I get are a lot older than me." Bella plays with the dream catcher hanging close to her face, twirling the feathers with her fingertips, wondering if any of his clients are people she knows, people she sees every day.

"Thanks, I guess. I'm glad I'm more attractive than an old person." A thought hits her. "Have you ever dated someone that's like, eighty?"

"Maaaybe."

"Okay, you have to tell me about it. You can't leave me hanging, man."

"I can't tell you her name, but she was really cool. She knitted this quilt with the Thundercats symbol on it."

"Get out, I used to watch that show when I was little. Now I kind of want to see it."

"If you drive me up to my house later, I'll show it to you. Hopefully, my brother isn't fucking around with his friends in it." Paul rolls his eyes, pushing his bangs back. "I don't care what he says, guys who are "just friends" don't sleep in one big naked dog pile."

Bella snickers. Paul gives her a look. "_What?_ Oh c'mon, you have to admit that sounds fun."

"Bella, he's twelve."

"So? I hit puberty at nine."

"That is so not the point."


End file.
